Installation was a piece of cake. The most time consuming part was hand ratcheting all the screws into the 2x6's and also the 12, 4" lag screws into the ceiling joists.
My three ceiling joists were 51" apart instead of 48", so I had to use the 2x6's.
I loaded up the platform last night with some cinder blocks to test the weight overnight, and then tonight lifted the top off.
RACOR HD lift on amazon.com for $130
Ratchet straps at home depot for $10
1" pipe insulation at home depot for $1.39 ea
Umm... with all that open space above the RACOR, couldn't you lay them flat on the rig? Then use a thick blanket and lay the 2 front roof panels on top?
Just wondering. Haven't seen the rig in person. Hell, I haven't had my full top off, yet. Just the doors and front top.
Installation was a piece of cake. The most time consuming part was hand ratcheting all the screws into the 2x6's and also the 12, 4" lag screws into the ceiling joists.
My three ceiling joists were 51" apart instead of 48", so I had to use the 2x6's.
I loaded up the platform last night with some cinder blocks to test the weight overnight, and then tonight lifted the top off.
RACOR HD lift on amazon.com for $130
Ratchet straps at home depot for $10
1" pipe insulation at home depot for $1.39 ea
The RACOR is a bit overkill, as the top is only approximately 100lbs. I'll bet you could rig something up with pipe as long as the base is sturdy. Be creative! unk:
good lord....what a PIA....one more reason I will NEVER have a hard top. Looks like some dungeon apparatus.....any questions from the neighbors as to what the shiznit goes on in your garage??? HA HA...just kidding!!
good lord....what a PIA....one more reason I will NEVER have a hard top. Looks like some dungeon apparatus.....any questions from the neighbors as to what the shiznit goes on in your garage??? HA HA...just kidding!!
not just a garage...but it looks like you need a pretty big garage....my garage is a standard two car cookie cutter home garage....I dont think it would be deep enough to clear the garage door and opener, etc.
thinking about that brings to mind something that happened to my best friend awhile back....he is a VERY smart Radiologist....but hung hooks for bikes in the garage with the garage closed and never stopped to think about where the hooks were placed in relation to the door when it was up....to make a long story short...he had bikes come crashing down on a new Mercedes SUV and a BMW conv!!!! Book smart, yes....any lick of common sense?? You tell me!!
Looks just like my install...2x4s and all. I load our kayak and dimensional lumber. Have a tall garage and wide split between the single door and the double door (three car plus garage...I love it!)
Thanks Jimbo, if it wasn't for your advice, I wouldn't have known about the RACOR unk:
seadog said:
Umm... with all that open space above the RACOR, couldn't you lay them flat on the rig? Then use a thick blanket and lay the 2 front roof panels on top?
Just wondering. Haven't seen the rig in person. Hell, I haven't had my full top off, yet. Just the doors and front top.
The RACOR has a max capacity of 250lbs. The 4 door top is about 100lbs and the front doors are about 64lbs each. It probably would hold all the weight, but I don't know how comfortable I would be knowing the cost of replacing the top
spm488 said:
After seeing this I ordered my lift on Amazon. Great idea. Can't wait to see if you have a handy idea for the doors!
Good deal! It's much cheaper than buying the hoist-a-top.
I'm thinking some kind of hangers on the wall that will be at the same height as when I lift them off. Also something that will take the weight off the window frame.
I don't claim to be super handy, but with my basic knowledge of physics, I think I could rig up a great lift with a hand jack and a few guy points, and some climbing webbing... all I need is a roof. lol... I bet it would cost a lot less than any pre made rig for lifting a top off.
Oh yea, I've built hoists/wall supports/lift contraptions, but
The homemade pulley/rope/hook, Rube Goldberg setups I've seen, can save 100 bucks, then one little miss co-ordinated move, can/does drop a corner of the $2000 buck top, why try to be Einstein-just pay $150 bucks and
I was wondering how you would connect this lift to a hard top.
So it appears you used the included 4x4 platform and put pipe insulation to protect the hard top. then you just wrapped tie down straps around the hard top and platform? Looks like you weaved the straps thru the platform.
Looks like a better solution than trying to use hooks in corners etc. Better long term support for the top itself.
I am looking for a little input. I have everything I need now and my joists are 48" apart, however, it is going to have to be installed so the wire grid supports are going to be towards the front and back of my Jeep, not on the sides. This is going to cause the center spindle to also run front to back. I can't really think of any reasons why this should be an issue but since your's is already installed I was wondering if you may have any insight. Do you see any problems with installing it this way?
Thanks guys. I am glad I asked, I was going to put the crank to the rear, but I never thought about the rear window. I guess with the crank to the front I can just operate it from the front seat since the front sections of the roof will be off anyhow?
Even with the "T" tops off, you'll still have the top directly underneath the rack and you won't have enough clearance to operate the rack rod (RR)-
You'll have to stand either in front, or side to operateit--no sweat-
:rofl::rofl: JIMBO
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